Wonderland In Reverse Part 1
by Mad Little Alice
Summary: Wonderland is being consumed by darkness and the Mad Hatter thinks it has something to do with Alice's arrival and quick departure. So he goes through the rabbit hole and enters Alice's world in search of her to bring her back and fix Wonderland.


The darkness was growing reaching with its inky fingers ever farther swallowing everything in its path. The Mad Hatter wasn't a trifle concerned as long as it didn't interfere with his tea time. But then it was always tea time as far as he was concerned. Humming a nonsense tune to himself he poured another cup for his neighbor and friend the March Hare, many cups littered the table most of them cold and untouched, but that didn't concern the pair. "How is a raven like a writing desk?" he asked aloud to no one in particular he didn't really expect an answer from the March Hare and he didn't get any other then a slight hysterical laugh. "How indeed how indeed, another spot of tea my friend?" the March Hare asked his friend pouring yet another fresh cup of tea adding another untouched cup of tea to the growing line.

Just beyond the gate the darkness grew, slowly invading the party, but the pair didn't notice not even when the dark fingers wrapped themselves around the March Hare swallowing him up, _oh look he is disappearing what fun_ the mad man thought clapping his hands, in the back of his mind a faint thought flitted _I had better run the darkness has come_. Getting to his feet he left the yard shutting the gate softly behind him, not even glancing back the last thing he heard was a loud laugh a mad laugh as the March Hare was taken by the darkness.

Hatter wandered through Wonderland unconcerned by the changes the darkness was making to his home"Oh Alice look at what you've done, Wonderland is being swallowed up soon we shall all cease to be…. The queen shall be mad, yes she shall. Off with their heads! Off with their heads!" he said singsong aloud a chuckle working its way past his lips. On and on he wandered finally reaching the rabbit hole "well well, look at that maybe it's time to pay dear Alice a visit" he said to himself scrambling up the hole, even he himself wasn't sure how he made it to the human world.

It was dark, it was cramped, where was he again? Had the darkness come for him? Had it taken him away like it had taken the March Hare? But no there was a light at the end of this tunnel, a way out! He wouldn't let the wretched darkness take him. Dirt came away in clumps in his hands as Hatter clawed his way up and up out of the darkness. The light was there right above his head tempting and yet still far away. With a grunt of effort the Mad Hatter burst out through the top of the hole into sunshine. But not sunshine as he had ever seen it, it looked somehow dimmer. _This isn't Wonderland… where am I? Oh wait yes now I remember I crawled up the rabbit hole to get away from the darkness I'm looking for dear little Alice. Maybe she could help us save Wonderland return it to it once was._For the first time in ever Hatter's mind felt strangely clear, it wasn't the crazed confusion he felt in Wonderland, but an ability to understand and reason, to think things out. He didn't like it! No, no not one bit, it made him feel… normal not himself, he wasn't the Mad Hatter anymore he was just Hatter a man with a tall top hat.

Alice's world was so… uneventful, people walked the streets eying the strange man, in his odd clothes and top hat talking aloud to himself, about things they considered perfectly normal. He would stop in the middle of the street kneeling to investigate the odd hard path he walked on. "How peculiar" he would mumble intrigued before his attention was caught by something else a streetlamp that didn't move, or a normal looking animal. A butterfly fluttering past his head caught the man's attention, and what an odd butterfly indeed. It didn't look like any he had ever seen before certainly not like any Wonderland bread and butter fly. Entranced he followed the butterfly to a field full of flowers. "Look at what we have here, flowers! They can tell me where Alice is!" his words caused more than a few people on the street to give him a sideways look, and a mother to grab her child by the arm and tug him away much to the child's dismay. The tall man in the top hat was awfully interesting to watch.

Straightening his hat the butterfly forgotten, Hatter went up to a bunch of daisies sitting neatly in a row. "Ahem excuse me ladies but do you mind telling me where I am? I assume its Alice's world but do you have any idea where she could be?" the flowers weren't answering him. _They must not know who I'm talking about silly me, I should explain to them_ smiling at his silliness he sat down amidst the flowers ready for a long discussion. "Forgive me for assuming you would know who Alice is. Let's see where to start…. Well I come from a place called Wonderland a place quite different from here. And if I might saw much more interesting, but currently is being overrun by this black evil thing, we don't know the origin of it, but it came into being after Alice left. Alice is a little blond girl who visited us not once but twice. She left quite an impact if I do say so myself, but since the darkness came into being after she left I was thinking she may have an idea on how to stop it. It's a long shot I know but what else have I got? Almost everyone and everything has been swallowed up you see" the flowers still weren't answering him, much to his annoyance. _Calm down Hatter perhaps their hard of hearing maybe I have to be a tad louder. Yes that must be it they can't hear me_ pretty sure that was the reason he leaned in close and began to shout drawing more than one disapproving eye. "EXCUSE ME, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHERE ALICE IS? IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT I FIND HER!" still no answer, now Hatter was fed up with the flowers. They were no help at all! "Well you are just no help at all are you?" usually the polite man, Hatter was ticked that the flowers hadn't even deigned to talk to him. "Well I bid you good day then daisies" standing up he dusted himself off a frown gracing his features, top hat a bit askew giving him a crazed look, well more crazed than normal.

The flowers had been absolutely no help, what was he to do now? Wandering the streets would do no good, even he knew that. It would be pertinent that he find somewhere to stay, the sun was setting fast casting a golden glow on everything. People were emptying out of the streets fast, more than a few eying the strange man wandering the streets muttering about a little girl he needed to find. Maybe he was an escape from an insane asylum? A man hurrying home from work spied the tall man making his slow way down the street muttering to himself, stopping once in awhile to peer intently at a young girls passing face, or perfectly normal things like stop signs, or birds all the while muttering to himself. It worried the man was this man insane? But it wasn't until suddenly started screaming at a stray cat, an orange tom that spooked and ran off down the street that the business man was convinced this man was truly crazy and must be sent back to the asylum for help.

Hatter wandered down the street stopping as he passed a few young ladies but none of them were Alice, where could the girl be? How big was her world that finding her could prove so difficult? A flash of orange caught his attention, it was a cat stripped just like the Cheshire cat! Why had the cat changed his coloring? "Cheshire! Cheshire you got away from the darkness too! Why have you changed your coloring? Was it an effect of coming through the rabbit hole?" but the cat streaked away from the scary man chasing after him easily outdistancing him. But the tall man wasn't to be deterred he would find out how the Cheshire had changed his colorings. "Cheshire! Wait!" but the cat had already disappeared running down an alley and disappearing among the heaps of garbage. The sound of a siren pierced the air coming closer. It was hard to ignore an irritating wail that jerked Hatter out of his pursuit he stood waist high in a pile of garbage sifting through it in search of an orange stripped cat. A police car drew to a stop at who they could only assume was the man they were looking for. A tall man in a top hat, with strange clothes quite obviously insane and, perhaps dangerous, the police man exited their car two of them both burly men made for catching insane men or criminals. The men approached Hatter cautiously "keep calm sir, we only mean to help you" Hatter took a step back instinctively not trusting of these men but maybe they could help him find Alice! "Could you help me find a little girl named Alice?" Hatter kept his distance from the large men who slowly made their way down the garbage ridden alley. "Alice?" one asked in a low voice, best to keep the man talking keep him calm, get him to go with them instead of forcing him. "Yes Alice she's a little girl, who I think is the only one who can help me save wonderland which is being swallowed by the darkness"

"Wonderland?" the man asked, his partner seemed to not like talking at least he hadn't opened his mouth yet merely watched Hatter with dark eyes. "Yes Wonderland it's where I come from, the entrance is a rabbit hole back there somewhere I don't know I lost it. Wonderland is a wonderful place full of things quite different then here. I don't know how you stand it here, it's so dull. Wonderland on the other hand has talking flowers, talking cats, and a crazy queen that plays croquet with a flamingo and takes off your head if she loses to you. But other than her it's a great place with bread and butter flies, a talking white rabbit with a pocket watch, and a caterpillar that knows just about everything" Hatter prattled on backing up a few more steps and ending up backed against a wall. If they had any doubts before they were all gone now, replaced by a firm belief that this man was indeed totally insane.

Latching onto the idea the police man attempted to coax the mad man out "We can take you to Alice if you want, we know where she is. Come with us and we will take you to her" he reasoned stopping a few feet away. "You mean it? You know where she is?" he asked excitement coursing through him .He could find her take her back and make her fix Wonderland! "Yes… we know where she is, in fact we'll take you to her just come with me" Hatter took a few uncertain steps toward the men and they led him back towards their car. "You can really take me to her?" he asked again, every instinct screamed don't trust them run away, but he had no other leads they seemed nice enough and they knew where Alice was. They opened the door for him making sure he was seated before closing it, the door had no handles on the inside, no way for him to get out there wasn't even windows in his back seat just a mesh cage that separated Hatter from the drivers. The uneasy feeling intensified, something was really wrong he had to get out. "Um I want to leave now I've decided to just find Alice on my own she can't be too far away" his voice came out hesitant uncertain something he wasn't used to. "No sir we can't let you out now, we think you need help and where we are about to take you will give you all the help you need" it was the other cop speaking now, the one who hadn't talked before and Hatter couldn't help but notice the certain degree of glee he found in the voice, it sent a cold shudder down his spine, that voice boded nothing but ill intentions.

**That's all for this installment if anyone is interested in the story and wants me to continue just post a comment ^-^**


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